Mortal: Starting with the Golden Jade Book

"Haha, fellow Daoist, you flatter me. How could I dare? I was merely discussing it with you two. If you wish to continue bidding, I will naturally not interfere."

The burly, red-faced man spoke nonchalantly, even gesturing for the two men to proceed, which annoyed the auctioneer. However, considering the man's background, he could only issue a curt warning.

"I hope you will abide by the rules, fellow Daoist. This is my Seven Star Tower, not Heavenly Palace Fortress!"

The burly, red-faced man snorted coldly, ignoring him completely. Seeing this, the auctioneer had no choice but to continue the auction.

Unexpectedly, whether out of fear of the red-faced giant's strength and background, or because they were genuinely short of money, the two hesitated for a long time before no one else made a bid.

The auctioneer called out several times, but seeing that the room remained quiet, he grew impatient. He thought this secret technique had a good chance of selling for 10,000 spirit stones, but because of the red-faced man's interference, it only reached 8,000 before stopping. How could he not be angry?

"Fellow Daoist, when do you plan to wait? In my opinion, no one will bid anymore. Let's announce the results sooner rather than later, so as not to waste everyone's time."

"Fellow Daoist Huang Ming is too impatient. I will announce the results when it is time, without needing your reminder."

The auctioneer snorted, but knew he couldn't delay any longer. He looked around at the crowd and finally spoke slowly.

"Since no one is bidding, then this 'Myriad Manifestations Armor' secret technique belongs to..."

"I'll offer ten thousand spirit stones!"

Just as the auctioneer was about to announce the result, a calm voice came from a corner.

The room erupted in uproar. The auctioneer was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed.

"Fellow Daoist No. 72 has offered 10,000 spirit stones. Is there anyone offering a higher bid?"

The smug smile on Huang Ming's face vanished instantly. He turned to look at the person who had made the offer, only to find that the person was shrouded in a hazy black aura, making it impossible to discern their true nature.

Huang Ming was taken aback, his eyes narrowed, and his divine sense instantly condensed into a line, forcibly penetrating into the black mist.

However, he had no unique achievements in spiritual sense. After some attempts, he could only vaguely sense that the other party's cultivation level was not high and that they should still be in the Qi Refining stage. He could not detect anything more specific.

However, this made him wary. A Qi Refining cultivator dared to compete with him, a late Foundation Establishment cultivator, and could casually take out tens of thousands of spirit stones, obviously he was quite wealthy.

Could he be a descendant of some important figure?

Before he could figure it out, the whispers of those around him reached him.

"10000 spirit stones? That's a generous offer."

"Who is this person? He doesn't even give face to the Huang family of Tianque Fortress?"

"So what if it's the Huang family? There are plenty of families in Yue that can rival them. Besides, the Huang family isn't under Huang Ming's control. Do you really think the Huang family would make such a fuss over such a trivial matter?"

"That's true, but this person doesn't seem to be an unknown individual; he's probably from some powerful family, right?"

"Perhaps, but it's none of our business. Let's see how Huang Ming handles it."

"Haha, fellow Daoist is absolutely right. We can just watch the show..."

These sounds made Huang Ming's lips twitch; he felt somewhat embarrassed. As a Foundation Establishment cultivator in the Yue Kingdom, he was a figure of considerable standing, and there was no need to resort to such methods to bid on something.

Unfortunately, he had spent a lot of spirit stones preparing the pills needed for his breakthrough, and was now short of money, so he disregarded his pride and used his power to intimidate others.

As a result, a junior suddenly appeared out of nowhere and showed him no respect. If he couldn't suppress the other party, how could he have the face to live in the cultivation world of Yue Kingdom in the future?

"10500 spirit stones!"

"Fellow Daoist Huang Ming has offered 10500 spirit stones. Are there any higher bids?"

"11000!"

"I'll offer 12000 spirit stones!"

Huang Ming's gaze was icy as he looked at Lin Zui's location, saying each word clearly, "You're rich, aren't you? Keep adding!"

Lin Zui smiled dismissively, his voice remaining calm.

"15000!"

Huang Ming suddenly stood up, his eyes flashing with murderous intent, and his entire body surged with magical power.

"Does Your Excellency truly intend to become Huang's enemy?"

"Oh? What makes you say that? This is an auction, and I was simply bidding normally. How could that be considered an enemy of yours?"

Lin Zui's tone was flat, revealing no emotion.

"If you want this item, keep bidding. If you can't afford it, then stop barking and whining here."

"you--"

Huang Ming was so angry that he laughed, and couldn't help but want to take action, but fortunately he still had some sense in the end.

"Very well, a mere Qi Refining junior dares to speak to me, Huang, like this! Quickly reveal your true form and tell me your origins, or you might not be able to leave today!"

"Hmph, although my cultivation is low, I have always adhered to the rules and bid fairly during this auction. Senior, you can't compete, so you resort to bullying and even verbal threats. You have quite the airs. Could it be that you own the Seven Star Tower?!"

Lin Zui's cultivation level was exposed, but he did not try to hide it. Instead, he stood up to him without showing any weakness and also made a comment about the Seven Star Tower, which was the host family.

The auctioneer on stage and the cultivators sitting behind him had long disliked Huang Ming, but they had temporarily held back because of his background.

But now that Lin Zui has pointed it out, there's no way he can remain silent anymore, otherwise the auction wouldn't need to continue.

"Fellow Daoist Huang Ming, please abide by the auction rules. If you still wish to bid on this item, please continue bidding. Otherwise, please take a seat!"

With the auctioneer's warning, several powerful pressures followed, pressing down on Huang Ming, all of them indicating late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation.

Huang Ming's vigorous momentum immediately dissipated. He wasn't actually afraid of these few late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, but he knew very well that the Seven Star Tower had a Nascent Soul cultivator behind it, and the person in charge here was at least a Core Formation stage expert. If things really escalated, he would only be asking for trouble.

She glared at Lin Zui with resentment, then waved her hand dismissively.

"Very well, since you, a junior, value this secret technique so much, I, Huang, will not argue with you. However, you must take good care of it and not let anyone target you or rob it on the way."

"Thank you for your concern, senior. I will act with caution and will never give any evildoers an opportunity!"

Just as the two were exchanging heated words, in a room upstairs in the auction hall, a middle-aged man in a gray robe was observing Lin Zui, whose appearance and aura were concealed by a magical artifact, with great interest.

However, the concealing magic artifact that could block the divine sense of a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator was like nothing in front of this person; his divine sense swept over it and revealed everything.

"Interesting. This mere Qi Refining Level 6 brat dares to be so disrespectful to a late Foundation Establishment cultivator. Just which old geezer is he a descendant of?"

The middle-aged man muttered to himself, thought for a while, but had no clue.

"However, his internal mana is quite abundant, almost comparable to that of an ordinary cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining. I wonder what kind of cultivation technique he is practicing."

Upon hearing this, a young man beside him cupped his hands and said, "Master, should I go and investigate?"

"Forget it, there's no need to go through all that trouble. What if they really are descendants of some old geezer? If they find out that I've come to Yue, won't they all come to beg for my money? It's so annoying."

The middle-aged man waved his hand, picked up his teacup, and took a sip.

"By the way, Xiaoqing, how's the matter I asked you to investigate going?"

"The author is wise. The righteous and demonic paths have indeed been making more and more frequent moves in recent years. It seems that they are indeed preparing to expand. I think they should make a move in three to five years at the very least, and seven or eight years at most."

"Sigh, Tiannan has only been peaceful for a few years, and now it's going to be chaotic again."

The middle-aged man sighed.

"Once war breaks out, it will be difficult to do business in peacetime... Hmph, these old fogies just can't stand a few more years of peace in the world."

After closing his eyes and pondering for a moment, the middle-aged man opened them again and looked out the window into the distance.

"Forget it, chaotic times also have opportunities. War profits are even easier to make!"